Harry Potter and the Marauder's Den
by runespoor magic
Summary: Remus had found an old Muggle notebook stuck between the mattresses. It was full of Sirius's loopy handwriting, in five different colors of ink. Not surprisingly, the majority of it consisted of Sirius's signature, scrawled out as Sirius Orion Lupin-Black, or alternatively, Black-Lupin. In summary, Remus kidnaps Harry from the Dursleys and blames Sirius. Mostly short drabbles
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine

Other Notes: This story takes you through Harry's pre Hogwarts years and is Remus and Sirius centric. The story of his Hogwarts years has not yet been posted, but I will get to it soon. Its going to be called A Beginner's Guide to Dimension Hopping. The story of him traveling to an alternate, mostly canon dimension Post Hogwarts is already being posted and is called Harry Potter and the Dimension Hopper.

Harry Potter and the Marauder'sDen

There was no use in denying it anymore. Remus could be downright Slytherin if he tried. And he was trying. There was just no right way left to go about it. It wasn't really bravery, he decided, looking around the cabin. And it wasn't out of a sense of loyalty to James and Lily, or even a sense of devotion to Harry.

The fact of the matter was, Remus didn't want to be alone. Especially not in this cabin where he used to curl up with Sirius on cold nights.

He was cowardly in that aspect, he supposed. It was just that the loneliness was crippling and the silence was driving him mad and he was wearing a hole into the carpet with his constant pacing and his throat hurt from howling all night.

It was the only thing to do, really. The logical thing to do. Selfish too, there wasn't any reason to deny it.

And it was Sirius's fault, even if he wasn't there to blame.

Remus had found an old Muggle notebook stuck between the mattresses. It was full of Sirius's loopy handwriting, in five different colors of ink. Not surprisingly, the majority of it consisted of Sirius's signature, scrawled out as Sirius Orion Lupin-Black, or alternatively, Black-Lupin. The part that surprised Remus was the extensive list of baby names that could be found at the back.

They'd never talked about marriage, or children, or conjoined names. They'd never even put a name on their relationship as far as Remus was aware.

So what surprised him even more was the box under the bed with two vials of blood under a stasis charm and extensive instructions on how to perform a blood adoption ceremony.

Remus could work with that.

Later, Remus decided that this was obviously slightly more complicated then what he had anticipated. And required a huge amount of planning. He didn't know the first thing about children. Not to mention that he was a werewolf; he wasn't allowed to have children, and so he'd never imagined himself as a father. He was at a loss.

He told himself it was for Harry. For Sirius, even. For James and Lily.

"I'm getting custody of my nephew," he told the woman in the shop earnestly, a lie, a necessary lie. "I'm so nervous," he said, a little more truthfully.

She was delighted and proceeded to take him around the shop.

The downside of the entire thing, was that Sirius was not there. He didn't want to raise a child on his own, and he had no legal reason to do so. The upside was, of course, that Sirius was not there. Remus was absolutely certain that Sirius would be more of a child then the actual child, and Remus wasn't prepared for that.

Slowly, Remus began to understand the world of nappies and baby food. The shopping trip was a bit of a blur, and while he was reluctant to spend Sirius' money, he was sure the man wouldn't mind.

 _Anything for you, Moony_ , he'd say with a cheeky grin. Remus hastily wiped at a tear.

When he got back to the cabin, he sat down on the floor and cried and whimpered into his hands at the horrible feeling in his stomach and the pain in his chest. His wolf rumbled in his head. He let it; he was too lonely to protest.

Eventually, he collected himself enough to put away the variety of toys and blankets and books and snacks that he had bought earlier for Harry.

He took a deep breath to steady himself and rifled through his closet. He had to look presentable. Normal enough that no one would give him a second glance.

Remus' hair was getting long now. It hung all around his face, a little past his chin, curling around his ears. But there was nothing to do about that. He got dressed hurriedly and jammed his feet into his shoes. As if it were an afterthought, his fingers brushed against his ears where Sirius had convinced him to get them pierced. No, he thought. It was too late for that, and it didn't matter.

He Apparated before he could change his mind.

In an instant, he was walking up Privet Drive and trying to take deep breaths through his nose. It was fine. He could do this.

There was obviously some kind of dinner party going on at number four, and Remus' stomach twisted. He knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Petunia asked, eyeing him critically. The guests all stared at him unhappily. Remus tried not to feel self-conscious about his scars.

"I'm Harry's uncle," he said, lying through his teeth. "We spoke on the telephone earlier." That was what it was, wasn't it? Not that it was true. "I'm here to pick up Harry? We're going on holiday for the rest of the summer?" His voice sounded false to his own ears.

Petunia merely stared at him, and Remus gave her a meaningful look. "Or maybe forever," he added under his breath.

She jumped into action. "Oh, of course."

"No need to grab his things," Remus added, offering her a thin smile.

Petunia practically ran up the stairs and was shoving Harry into his arms before he had time to react. "Good riddance," she snarled at him as she shoved them out of the door. "Don't bother bringing him back."

Remus scowled. "As if I would," he said. He didn't do her the courtesy of backing off before he Apparated off of her doorstep.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still not mine

Harry Potter and the Marauder'sDen

The blood adoption ritual was quite possibly the second most illegal thing Remus had ever done, the first being that he had just kidnapped Harry. It was also the most painful thing he'd ever experienced, baring his transformations and the night he'd been bitten.

He wondered if Sirius could feel it all the way in Azkaban. A small, morbid part of him hoped so; it would be one thing that they could finally share.

Harry for the most part seemed quite unaffected. There were no cries of pain, or any other sign of discomfort from him. He laughed when Remus picked him up again, and kicked his stubby legs, and garbled something that was probably Remus's name.

His skin had paled to an ivory and his almond shaped green eyes were now round and grey. His hair was still dark, but softer looking now.

"Corvus," Remus sighed. It was the first name on Sirius's list. "Corvus James Lupin-Black," he said. "What do you think of that? Or maybe Black-Lupin?"

Several months passed and they quickly fell into a routine. They went to bed early, and got up even earlier. Remus was a lot less lonely. Corvus was a lot less quiet. And every morning Remus eyed the paper critically for anything to suggest that Harry Potter had disappeared.

He was always disappointed.

There was, however, a headline that declared Sirius Black as an Azkaban escapee.

Remus sat down on the sofa and laughed until he cried, and then he curled up with his new cub and fell asleep.

He woke up with a trembling body wrapped around him and a cold nose pressed against the back of his neck. He nearly fell onto the floor, taking Corvus with him.

"Padfoot," he gasped.

"Pa'foot," Corvus agreed.

Sirius grinned all over his face, a welcome sight despite his haggard appearance. He knocked them both to the floor in a hug. "Oh Moony," he said, kissing him roughly and dragging his stubble across Remus's face.

"You broke out of Azkaban," Remus managed.

Sirius jabbed him in the stomach weakly. "You kidnapped the Boy-who-lived," he countered. "And did an illegal blood ritual!" The 'so there!' was implied.

Remus grabbed him by the collar and kissed him again. "Padfoot, you idiot," he said. "It was your idea."

Sirius grinned. "It was, wasn't it? Best idea I ever had." He pulled Corvus back into his arms as Remus leaned his head on his shoulder. "Hey kiddo, remember me?"

Several hours later, Corvus was sound asleep and Sirius was laying with his head pillowed on Remus's chest.

Remus ran his fingers through his grimy hair. "You're filthy," he told Sirius softly. "And you stink."

Sirius did his best attempt at a leer. "If you wanted me to take my clothes off, you only had to ask."

"I'm serious."

Sirius grinned into Remus's shoulder. "I'm Sirius," he mumbled.

Remus pushed him off gently. "Come on, you mangy mutt. You need a bath."

Sirius grumbled a little to himself, but did as directed, stripping off his clothes as he walked towards the bathroom. Remus leaned against the counter as Sirius sank into a mixture of steaming water and bubbles.

"You should see a healer," Remus remarked.

"You're not my mum," Sirius said irritably.

Remus snorted. "Thank the gods for that," he said dryly.

Sirius splashed him. "Marry me," he said suddenly and unexpectedly.

Remus very nearly choked. "What?"

Sirius grabbed his chin and brought Remus's face closer and kissed him lightly. "Marry me," he repeated.

Remus looked at him for a long time. "Why?"

"Please, Merlin, just say yes," Sirius said, exasperated. "I don't want to be alone. You should hear the way my head sounds sometimes. Christ, I need you, Moony. I'm so scared."

Remus laughed breathlessly. "Merlin," he said. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Sirius frowned. "What?"

"I am too," Remus told him. "I'm scared, Sirius. Of course I'll bloody well marry you, you mutt."


	3. Chapter 3

Harry Potter and the Marauder's Den

It wasn't exactly a real marriage, not with papers and documents or even a witness. There couldn't be, not with Sirius in hiding and Remus trying to stay under the radar. But they considered themselves married, and they told Corvus that they were, even when they fought. When Sirius threw things and Remus spoke in a cold, trembly voice.

It happened more than one would think. It wasn't that they weren't compatible, or that they didn't care for one another. It was more so the fact that the love they shared was more of a selfish, consuming love, rather than a selfless, giving kind of love. And to be fair, they had both known it from the beginning.

It was also the house.

It wore on a person, seeing someone day after day and never having a moment away from them, or even being able to step outside.

A few months after Sirius's proposal, when Corvus had toddled to the door way of the kitchen and a plate came sailing across the room and very nearly hit Remus in the head, they decided that perhaps something had to change.

"I was thinking," Remus said later, "that maybe we could see about fixing up Grimmauld Place."

Sirius said something into his elbow. He was sprawled out on the rug he liked to sleep on as Padfoot.

Remus nudged him with his foot and Sirius rolled onto his back. Remus shrank back slightly at his glare.

"That is to say, I'm sorry, about earlier, and perhaps it would be good to get out of the house?"

Sirius sat up straight. "Leave the house?"

Remus shifted uncomfortably. "If you want."

"Of course I want!" Sirius said, springing up. He spun around the room and then flung himself into Remus's arms. "What are we waiting for, Moony dearest?"

"Your forgiveness," Remus asked in a small voice.

Sirius kissed him. "You don't even have to ask."

The solution Remus had come up with was very simple. Connect Grimmauld Place to their floo, so that any time they had a fight, one of them could blow off steam, preferably by cleaning the old place out. It gave them space from each other, and also gave Sirius a little more room to roam then their tiny, secluded cabin.

The Marauder's Den, as James had once affectionately dubbed the cabin, was crowded even with only the three of them, or at least Sirius thought.

The downside of this solution was that Remus was a bit of a mother hen, and worried incessantly if he didn't know where Sirius was.

"I just don't want you to go back to Azkaban, Padfoot," he would explain tiredly, and Sirius would scoff and roll his eyes and stalk around the house with an attitude until Remus would growl something about stupid mutts and floo to Grimmauld.

And it went on and on like that, back and forth.

The thing about being married to someone, Sirius mused later on, was that there really was no escape from them. Especially if you were a fugitive. Especially if your son was actually your godson whom you had kidnapped.

And yet Sirius couldn't honestly say that they spent all of their time fighting. They took care of Corvus and sometimes they tried to clean Grimmauld Place. They also learned, albeit not very much.

For example, Sirius now knew that Remus hated to cuddle, to hug even, and that he only tolerated it when the full moon was near. He had already known that, actually, but somewhere along the lines, the details went a bit fuzzy.

He also knew that Remus liked his soup lukewarm, and ate vegetables at breakfast, and generally preferred his books to Sirius's actual company, but the thing about being married, even if it was a mostly imaginary marriage, was that Sirius didn't actually mind those things at all.


	4. Chapter 4 Part 1

Notes: Er, warning for a slightly Slytherin Remus and a confused Sirius?

Also, I am taking requests for this story, considering it is supposed to be taking the form of interconnected drabbles. However, I am experiencing technical difficulties that are making it so I can't read my reviews, so if you have a request for this story, or if you have any idea how I can resolve this issue, please PM me. Thanks!

Harry Potter and the Marauder's Den

Sirius wasn't exactly sure what Remus was teaching his child, but whatever it was, he didn't think it was entirely a good thing either. He had a feeling that something was going on while he was out. Not that Sirius was out too terribly often. Only to Grimmauld and back when he needed to blow off steam, sometimes out to the park as Padfoot. He didn't even mind; he just liked to cause a fuss.

But lately every time he got back to the house, Remus and Corvus seemed in far too good of moods.

Not that they couldn't be in a good mood. Not that Sirius didn't want them to be happy. Hell, good moods meant that Remus would tolerate a good cuddle and that Corvus would play Quidditch with him in the backyard.

All in all, having Corvus and Remus in a good mood meant that life was all around better. Especially for Sirius. Usually for Sirius.

However, this mood was the kind that came hand in hand with pranking, and sneaking, and all things Slytherin.

And it didn't bode well for the Animagus.

The first time Sirius noticed, he and Remus had been fighting for days, and so he had spent three nights in a row at Grimmauld. Three nights, in Sirius's opinion, was much too long, and Sirius had only come home because he didn't like the feeling of a bed without Remus in it.

He walked into the kitchen, which seemed to be the place where his family was most likely to convene, considering it was nearly noon. Remus had obviously heard his footsteps, because he looked up, and immediately hid whatever he was holding behind his back and offered Sirius a tiny smile.

Sirius looked between his husband and his son, who were both wearing similar expressions of innocence, and decided not to say anything for the time being.

As the week dragged on, the innocent looks became more frequent and Sirius couldn't shake the feeling that he was being subtly manipulated.

He knew manipulation when he saw it. Sirius may not have been very Slytherin himself, but he had been raised in a nest of snakes, and he knew enough to read the signs. Sirius was good, but Remus was obviously better, and Sirius wasn't sneaky enough to figure it out.

The next week, Remus introduced the idea of school for Corvus. "He needs to be around kids his age, don't you think?" Remus asked.

Sirius frowned at him. "You know that's what I think, Moony."

Remus, who despised physical touch more than he despised the full moon (well, that may have been a slight exaggeration, but Sirius was sure it at least measured on the same scale) settled his arm around Sirius's shoulder and carded his fingers through his black hair. "Then you'd be willing to make sacrifices, for Corvus, of course?"

Sirius leaned into the touch, but there was something about the way Remus worded the question that set him off. "What kind of sacrifices?" he asked, worrying his lip between his teeth.

Remus gave him a look. "You mean you wouldn't make sacrifices for Corvus?"

Sirius stared outright. "You know that's not what I said."

"Then we have nothing to worry about," Remus said, kissing Sirius's cheek. "I'll enroll Corvus in school tomorrow."

Things only got worse from there.

Every day it was something new that Remus, or sometimes even Corvus, asked of him, all while playing on Sirius's weaknesses. Remus hugged him more often and sometimes pulled him back to bed in the mornings. Somehow his five year old scrounged up the change to buy him Muggle sweets from his new school, and indulged him in activities like Quidditch and fetch with Padfoot.

Despite all of this, Sirius still made quite a fuss about not being allowed out of the house, and so a few weeks into school, Remus reminded Sirius sweetly about their conversation about sacrifices and sent Sirius off under Polyjuice to go to Corvus's student teacher conference.

Sirius had thought this would feel a bit like winning, but instead, he felt like Remus had manipulated the end results. He didn't know why he felt that way, but he could have sworn that there was some kind of undergoing plot going on in his household, and he had to figure out what it was.

"Cor," Sirius said to his son one day when Remus was doing the shopping. "Can you please be a good boy for Padfoot and tell me something honestly."

Corvus looked up at Sirius through his long lashes. "I guess so," he said.

Sirius tried to smile, but he was feeling a bit strained, and he thought he was coming down with something. It came out as a grimace. "Are you and Moony keeping secrets from me?" he asked.

Corvus glanced around, like he thought Moony might be around the corner, and then grinned widely at Sirius. "Are we doing a good job?" he asked.

Sirius sighed. "Yeah, kiddo, you're doing great." He rubbed his forehead, which was throbbing.

Corvus scooted closer. "Are you okay, Padfoot?"

"'m fine," Sirius said. "Just tired. Listen, Cor, can you tell me one of the secrets? Then me and you can have a secret too."

Corvus's grin didn't change, even as he leaned closer and put his head on Sirius shoulder. "No."

"Oh come on," Sirius said pitifully. "Tell a secret to your sick old dad."

Corvus glanced up at him again. "Okay, okay," he said, giggling. "Moony said the soup was s'pposed to make you sick."

Sirius sat straight up. "He said _what_?"

Corvus slapped his hands over Sirius's mouth. "Padfoot," he said reproachfully. "It's a _secret."_

"Sorry, sorry," Sirius huffed.

The next morning found Sirius curled up rather pathetically in bed, covered in a thin sheen of sweat. "Remy," he whined when the man came in with a thermos full of tea. "Why have you poisoned me?"

Remus looked at him rather curiously. "I haven't poisoned you, Sirius."

"Cor said you got me sick on purpose," he said accusingly.

A faint smile graced Remus's features. "Nice try, baby," he said, kissing Sirius's forehead. "Go back to sleep."

TBC in chapter four part two


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